This undated publicity photo released by HBO, shows actor James Gandolfini in his role as Tony Soprano, head of the New Jersey crime family portrayed in HBO's "The Sopranos." (AP Photo/HBO, Barry Wetcher, File)

(Newser)
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A paramedic in Italy is accused of pilfering James Gandolfini's Rolex Submariner watch as the actor lay dying, NBC News reports. Prosecutors say Claudio Bevilacqua, 43, stole the $3,000 watch after the actor suffered a massive heart attack in June 2013—but it's not clear whether the watch was taken from his wrist or his room at the Boscolo Exedra Hotel in Rome. Gandolfini, then 51, was declared dead 20 minutes after he arrived at a hospital, the New York Daily News recalls. The first hearing for Bevilacqua was held Monday in Rome, where the trial was postponed until November. TMZ broke the story in 2013, when Gandolfini reps said the "Rollie" was missing.

One incident doesn't speak to all paramedics, but I have heard of this happening before. It's tough to prove when it's your word against their's and they can say it could have been anyone from an EMT, to a nurse, or another assistant.

Arishia

May 18, 2016 3:12 AM CDT

Wow. I was accused of stealing some guys Rolex when I was a medic, only because I was alone in the back of the ambulance and had the opportunity. I didn't steal it. At the time, I didn't even know what a Rolex was, or that a watch could be that expensive, and I was too busy saving the guy's life to even notice if he had a watch on or not, so I don't know if it disappeared at the scene, in the hospital or who knows where. Prick. One of the few patients I regretted having come in contact with.